Bloom and Scatter
by VeryBerry96
Summary: Hospitalised after Aoba uses Scrap on him, Mizuki has been asked to keep a young blind and mute man named Sei company. At first he's uncomfortable but after some time the two become close friends...and soon maybe more. Based from the drawing by shinkamilyn-sakonma on Tumblr.
1. Chapter 1 - Name

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I blame tumblr for this entirely. The idea for this fic is entirely based off of amazing drawing by shinkamilyn-sakonma on tumblr. Please please **_**pleeeeease **_**check them out. I would link straight to the tumblr blog but this website doesn't let you put links in actual fic chapters. There is a link to the blog however on my profile.**

**The chapters of this fic won't be very long but they will hopefully be very cute. There should be 7 chapters and I hope you enjoy them! Please review!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own DRAMAtical Murder. If I did Mizuki would be in it a looooot more.**

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**Chapter 1 - Name**

Mizuki sighed under his breath. He felt rather useless sitting here staring at a man he didn't know and who couldn't even see him. He glanced over his shoulder and wondered for a moment if he could escape back to his hospital room, but he quickly talked himself out of that idea. Not only had the nurse already told this man that he had a visitor but Mizuki had nothing better to do himself. It got pretty lonely being stuck in a hospital bed all alone and the company of a mute, blind stranger was better than no company at all.

Mizuki had been hospitalised after his run in with Morphine. He didn't remember too much about it, but he knew Aoba had tried to help him and whatever he had done hadn't had the desired effect. He didn't blame Aoba at all though; he knew that he'd been trying his best to help him. Aoba had been to visit him but hadn't been able to come that often, having been busy at work and with his friends. Mizuki completely understood, and also suspected that Aoba would probably feel guilty since it was due to him that Mizuki was in hospital, and seeing him was probably making him feel worse. Mizuki didn't want that so he was actually glad Aoba had come to see him less often.

The man sitting up in bed in front of him had shoulder length black hair and, from what he could see, rather feminine features. In fact if the nurse hadn't told him he wouldn't have been 100% sure if he was a man or woman. He was wearing the regulation hospital gown and had strips of cloth wrapped around his head covering his eyes. According to the nurse who had brought Mizuki in they didn't know his name and since he couldn't speak he couldn't tell them. He'd seemed unresponsive to any coaxing from the doctors to try and communicate, so they'd thought maybe someone close to his own age would have more luck. Because of this they had asked Mizuki to keep him company.

Mizuki took a deep breath and swallowed hard. "Um…well…" he started, not getting any reaction from the young man in the bed. "I'll be staying in this hospital for a while. Hope we'll get along."

A flicker of a smile seemed to pass over the young man's face but Mizuki might have imagined it.

"I'm Mizuki by the way," he introduced himself. "What's your name?"

When silence hung in the air he mentally slapped himself. 'Great job self,' he thought. 'You just asked a mute person to tell you their name…' He looked away from the young man in embarrassment even though he couldn't see him. 'I'm stupid-'

His thoughts were cut off suddenly when he felt something lift up his hand. He quickly looked over to see the young man had picked up his right hand and was tracing something on his palm with his finger. Mizuki realised that he was tracing letters and leaned forward slightly in concentration.

"S…e…i," Mizuki spelt out. "Sei?"

The young man smiled and nodded before starting to spell more things out, taking a small pause in between words.

"T…h…a…n…k...…y…o…u…...f…o…r…...c…o…m…i…n…g…...t…o…...s…e…e…...m…e," Mizuki said quietly before smiling and looking up from his hand to Mizuki. "It's no problem. Believe me, you're doing me a favour. I was bored out of my mind in that hospital room. So hopefully we can keep each other company while we're here."

Mizuki nodded and smiled again which made Mizuki grin even more. Sei had a really nice smile.

"If you like I could bring books or something to read to you if you'd like?" Mizuki offered. When he saw Sei hesitate he quickly shook his head. "I mean, I don't have to. Sorry if that sounded really patronising. I didn't mean it too…I just thought you might be bored in here by yourself…"

Sei grinned before starting to trace again.

"M…i…z…u…k…i…...i…s…...s…i…l…l…y," Mizuki blushed slightly as Sei's shoulders shook as if he was laughing.

"I'm not silly…" Mizuki mumbled.

Sei went back to writing on Mizuki's hand. "I…...w…o…u…l…d…...r…e…a…l…l…y…...l…i…k…e…...i…t…...i…f…...y…o…u…...w…o…u…l…d…...r…e…a…d…...t…o…...m…e."

"Well, I have some books in my room. I can bring them tomorrow if you'd like?" Mizuki offered.

Sei nodded again and traced one last time. "T…h…a…n…k…...y…o…u."

And so started a daily routine of Mizuki coming to visit Sei. Sometimes he would bring books to read to him and other times he brought a notebook and pen to play little guessing games where Sei would draw something and Mizuki would have to guess what they were.

Both of them enjoyed these little games, but Mizuki couldn't help but sometimes wish he could have a proper conversation with Sei.

But of course, Sei was healing. So it wouldn't be long before Mizuki would hear his voice.

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**AN: Hope you enjoyed this first chapter! Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2 - Flower

**Chapter 2 – Flower**

Mizuki now looked forward to going through to Sei's room every day. He was only allowed to stay during visiting hours even though they were both patients in the hospital but since both of them were still bed-ridden for the most part they still needed lots of rest and medication.

It had gotten to the point where Mizuki would count Sei as one of his closest friends. He may not have known him for as long as he'd known Aoba or his fellow Dry Juice members, but when you spend every day with the same person you get to know them pretty well, even if that person couldn't speak. Mizuki now knew that Sei often turned his head as if to look out of the window even though he couldn't see. He also knew that if Sei wanted to say something he would grab onto Mizuki's finger so he could trace letters on his hand. Mizuki had started always making sure his hand was resting near Sei's so he could always grab it if he wanted to speak.

Mizuki had also noticed that Sei never had any visitors. He himself had Aoba and the gang members who came to see him, but it didn't look like Sei had anyone. Mizuki wanted to ask Sei about his family and friends but he was worried it would seem like he was sticking his nose in where it wasn't wanted.

He might not have known him for very long but Mizuki wanted to cheer Sei up. Not that he seemed upset as such, but nobody wanted to go without visitors while they were in hospital. He had noticed that there was a flower vase on a cabinet next to his bed, as there was in every room, but Sei's was always empty. This gave Mizuki an idea.

A few days previously a few of the Dry Juice members had come to see him and had given him flowers. They'd been pretty embarrassed about giving him roses but Mizuki had just laughed kindly and thanked them. The roses were all red except for one white rose right in the centre of the bunch. That night Mizuki lay in bed and stared at the flowers as he thought about Sei, a smile coming to his face as he thought out his plan.

The next day he made sure to grab the flowers from his vase before he headed over to Sei's room. He grinned as he read the tag:

"To our amazing leader.

Get well soon Mizuki-san!

Your team."

They'd also drawn a doodle of the Dry Juice logo.

"Sorry guys," he muttered, "this is for a good cause. Someone needs these more than me."

He kept smiling as he walked down the hallway to Sei's room. He knocked on the door so Sei knew it was him before he walked in. When he did he saw that once again Sei's head was turned towards the sunlight streaming through the window, although when he heard Mizuki coming through the doorway he began to smile.

"Morning Sei," Mizuki greeted him, walking straight over to the empty flower vase. As he walked past him Sei turned his head to face him and sniffed. "Oh, you noticed them? Someone left you flowers but it doesn't say who they're from."

Sei was still as Mizuki arranged the flowers before he gently took hold of Mizuki's hand. "Hm? You want to tell me something? Let's see…"

He held his hand out flat as Mizuki began tracing letters, giving his hand a small squeeze when he was finished.

"I…don't…have…anyone…who…would…send…me…flowers. I…think…they…are…yours."

Mizuki was silent for a moment before he smiled. 'Even though he's blind he immediately saw through my lie, huh?' he thought to himself.

"Heh…yeah, you're right. Sorry for lying to you Sei," Mizuki admitted as he took the flowers back out of the vase again and sat down on Sei's bed. "Before I bring them back to my room though, please keep one at least, okay?"

Sei smiled and nodded once as Mizuki picked up his hand and placed it on the bunch of flowers. Sei leaned forward slightly so his face was hovering just over the flowers. He inhaled deeply before choosing a flower from the bunch. Mizuki smiled as he saw that Sei had chosen the only white rose in the bunch. He picked up Mizuki's hand again and traced, "T…h…a…n…k…...y…o…u."

"Sei, how did you know there was a white rose in there?" Mizuki asked curiously.

Sei held up the white rose to Mizuki's face and he sniffed at it, the aroma filling his nose. Then, with a cheeky grin on his face, grabbed hold of Mizuki's hand which was holding the rest of the flowers and caused him to shove the flowers into his face. Mizuki spluttered slightly in surprise before he realised what Sei was trying to tell him.

"Oh, they smell differently. I see," he said and Sei nodded.

Mizuki plucked a few petals out of his hair and laughed softly as he stood up. "I'm going to take the flowers back to my room."

He turned to leave Sei's room but stopped when he felt someone tugging on his sleeve. He looked back to see Sei clinging onto him with a sad and lonely look on his face. Mizuki smiled before moving back and gently taking Mizuki's hand in his, squeezing it. "Hey, I'll be right back, okay? Promise."

Sei was still for a moment before he nodded slowly, squeezing Mizuki's hand back.

As Mizuki closed Sei's door behind him he peaked through the door one last time. He smiled as he did, seeing Sei holding up the white rose to his face and smiling happily.

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**AN: Hope you enjoyed! Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3 - Voice

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you to Spottkat for reviewing the last chapter! Hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own DRAMAtical Murder or the base idea for this story. Those rights go to Nitro+chiral and shinkamilyn-sakonma respectively. **

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**Chapter 3 – Voice**

Since Sei needed more rest than Mizuki did, sometimes he would fall asleep while Mizuki was still visiting. If that happened then Mizuki tended to just stay in Sei's room and sketch for a bit. Since Sei's eyes were still covered by the bandages Mizuki could only tell that Sei was asleep because his breathing deepened. He sometimes made little moaning noises in his sleep, and once or twice Mizuki had been forced to shake his friend awake for fear that he was having a nightmare.

Most of the time Mizuki drew what he was used to; tattoo designs. But more and more often he found himself sketching various pictures of Sei instead. The majority of them were pictures of Sei in his hospital bed but occasionally Mizuki let his imagination run away with him as he sketched Sei outside of the hospital in normal clothes. He liked to picture what his friend would look like normally. He always found it hard to draw his eyes however since he had never seen them.

It was during one of these times when Sei was asleep and Mizuki was quietly sketching in the corner that an unfamiliar sound broke the silence.

"Mi…zu…ki…"

"Yeah?" Mizuki replied without thinking or looking up from his pad.

In the silence that followed Mizuki suddenly realised that Sei was the only other person in the room and his head shot up, his eyes wide, and the pad and pencil fell from his hands. He jumped up and ran towards Sei, roughly gripping his shoulders and shaking him slightly.

"My name!" he cried. "Say it again! Say my name again!"

Sei was silent as always, his mouth remaining closed. Mizuki squeezed his eyes shut as he felt tears starting to form and he tightened his grip slightly on Sei's shoulders.

'Don't tell me I imagined this…' he prayed silently. 'P…please no… Not the hallucinations again…'

One of the side effects from Aoba using Scrap on Mizuki had been very vivid hallucinations which for a long time Mizuki hadn't been able to escape. The idea of not knowing the different between them and reality terrified him, but he hadn't had any in quite a while. He had thought he was getting better; that maybe soon he'd be able to leave the hospital. But now…if he'd imagined Sei speaking…

"No."

Mizuki's eyes snapped open and he stared down at Sei who was smiling slightly.

"Won't…say…i-it."

Mizuki let out a huge sigh and felt a massive weight lift off of his shoulders. He wasn't crazy. He wasn't hearing things. He started to smile as he realised what all this meant. Sei could talk again. Sure his voice was pretty hoarse but that was to be expected since he hadn't spoken in who knew how long.

"You little…!" Mizuki chuckled, releasing his grip on Sei's shoulders and sitting up on his friend's bed. "Glad you got your voice back though, Sei."

Sei smiled back before grimacing slightly. "But…h-hurts…" he managed to whisper.

Mizuki stood up off the bed quickly. "Oh, right. I'll go get the doctors, okay?" he said.

Sei nodded and smiled in thanks. Mizuki smiled back before realising that Sei wouldn't be able to see it so instead he reached out and gently squeezed his friend's hand before dashing out of the room.

Sei rolled over onto his side so he was facing the window. He wasn't able to see but he enjoyed the feeling of the sun on his face, and plus with his ear turned towards the door he could better hear when Mizuki came in as well as what he was saying. He suspected Mizuki didn't know that was why he usually faced the window and the thought of that made him smile.

He was really grateful to Mizuki for always coming to see him, especially since he didn't have to. He could tell from his tone of voice the first time he'd come to his room that he hadn't really wanted to be there, but over the days and weeks that followed he knew that Mizuki had warmed to him even though he hadn't been able to properly communicate. He smiled again as he remembered that the rose Mizuki had given him was still on the vase next to his bed.

He swallowed and grimaced again as his throat stung. 'Even though it hurts a lot…and I shouldn't try to speak…' he thought to himself before opening his mouth.

"Mi…zu…ki…" he murmured before smiling triumphantly even though nobody was there to see it.

A few seconds later Mizuki burst back into the room followed by two doctors and a nurse. Mizuki stood silently at the other side of the room as the doctors asked Sei some questions, confirming his name, age and if he knew where he was. They quickly realised that speaking was still very difficult for him so they didn't ask him too much, and fairly soon they left Mizuki and Sei alone again with strict instructions that Sei wasn't to speak too much for fear of further damage to his voice.

Mizuki grabbed the chair which normally stood next to the door and brought it over so he could sit next to Sei.

"I'm sorry that I freaked out there for a minute," Mizuki apologised, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "I…went thought a time where I was seeing and hearing a lot of stuff that wasn't real and I got scared that it had happened again."

Sei frowned and wiggled his fingers slightly, indicated that he wanted Mizuki to take his hand. He did so and Sei squeezed it.

"S-sorry," he said quietly, guilt evident on his face.

Mizuki shook his head. "Don't apologise, you didn't know," he smiled. "I'm just happy that you can talk again. Although the doctors are right, you shouldn't push yourself to talk too much. For now you can still trace letters on my hand if you want to say anything."

Sei smiled and nodded in agreement before he bit his lip. "Mi…zu…ki."

"Yes?" Mizuki replied, expecting Sei to ask him something.

"Mizuki," Sei said again as if he was trying to get used to the taste of the name on his tongue. His face brightened slightly and he repeated it over and over. "Mizuki Mizuki Mizuki Mizuki Mizuki Mizuki Muzuki Mizuki Mizuki Mizuki!"

Mizuki blushed bright red and looked down. "Stop saying my name so often Sei! I'm not a pet!"

Sei laughed slightly and Mizuki lifted his head back up before he gasped. There was a thin trail of blood running down Sei's chin from his mouth. Mizuki quickly grabbed some tissues from the counter next to his bed and started to wipe it up.

"Idiot…" he murmured. "You spoke too much. You need to stay silent for a while, alright?"

Sei sighed but nodded and Mizuki sat back down, relieved that there was no signs of the bleeding continuing.

"Mizuki…" Sei whispered one last time.

Mizuki looked back up at Sei and was about to tell him off for speaking once more but when he saw Sei's face he stopped himself. He wasn't grinning cheekily like he was when he'd been repeating his name over and over again. Instead he was just smiling in a way Mizuki could only describe as peaceful. This made Mizuki himself smile and he once again laced his fingers with Sei's, giving them a gentle squeeze.

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**AN: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review! (THAT MEANS YOU SIMONA.)**


	4. Chapter 4 - Heartbeat

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you to Simona for reviewing the last chapter (You took the hint! Well done :-P). Thank you also to the guest who reviewed it anonymously.**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter! Please review!**

**This chapter is dedicated to Virus1997. **

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own DRAMAtical Murder or the original concept for this story.**

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**Chapter 4 – Heartbeat**

Since Sei and Mizuki could now have actual conversations the pair started to become closer than ever. Mizuki could still sense that Sei didn't want to talk about whatever it was that had put him in the hospital, and so he made sure never to bring it up. Mizuki didn't really mind talking about why he was there but even he wasn't too sure of the details, so it never got brought up either.

Instead, the two young men found many other things to talk about once Sei's voice was strong enough. It may have seemed like they didn't have much in common but Sei seemed to really enjoying hearing about Dry Juice as well as Mizuki's tattoo business. Mizuki had noticed that the conversations would be pretty one-sided since Sei tended to just ask questions instead of bringing up his own topics to talk about, but since Sei didn't seem to get bored or annoyed at Mizuki talking he didn't mention it.

The Dry Juice members still came to visit Mizuki, and Sei had made him promise to introduce him to his teammates at some point. Mizuki had agreed, thinking to himself that maybe he would wait until Sei could see again as the doctors had said that hopefully wouldn't be too long a wait. One day however, his teammates surprised him by visiting while Mizuki was with Sei. A nurse came in to inform him that he had visitors so Mizuki excused himself, promising Sei that he would be back later, and he went to see his teammates.

As always they were happy to see their leader, and they were glad that he seemed to be recovering well. One of them noticed that the white rose was missing from the flowers they'd given him, but when Mizuki blushed slightly and told them to drop it they did, although a few amused grins were exchanged amongst the members.

Another surprise his teammates had for him was that they'd brought his pet ermine, Shiro, to see him. Mizuki was both immensely happy to see his little furry friend and very relieved that he'd been taken care of. After checking that it was okay with the nurse on duty, Mizuki decided to keep Shiro with him for the night, asking the member who'd been taking care of him if he could come and get him the next day. With all the arrangements made the Dry Juice gang left, leaving Mizuki with Shiro and the cage they'd brought him in.

Mizuki lay on his bed playing with his pet for a few minutes. Eventually Shiro scrambled onto Mizuki's chest and curled up, very nearly falling asleep. Mizuki smiled, happy that his pet seemed relieved to see its master again. Pets weren't all that common nowadays since almost everyone had an AllMate, but even though he may not be as functional as an AllMate, Mizuki wouldn't want to give up Shiro for anyone. He maintained that real animals could be better company and better friends than people sometimes.

This made him think about Sei. Mizuki wondered if Sei had ever had a pet or an AllMate. Since they didn't really talk about Sei's life before the hospital he had no idea.

Sitting up slowly so he didn't scare Shiro, Mizuki scooped the ermine up and walked back down to Sei's room, deciding to introduce his friend to his pet. He knocked on Sei's door, waiting for him to respond before he opened it.

"Hey Sei… Catch this!" he grinned as he plopped Shiro down on Sei's lap.

"Woah!" Sei cried as Shiro started to pad about on the bed. "What is this?! It's moving!"

Mizuki chuckled as he sat down on Sei's bed. "Don't worry. It doesn't bite."

"Is this your AllMate Mizuki?" Sei asked.

Sei was very fond of teasing Mizuki, so Mizuki decided not to tell him anything. "Who knows?" he replied. "Why don't you try to find out?"

Sei gingerly held a hand out and Shiro sniffed at it before decided he liked Sei and rubbing his head on his hand and arm.

"It's soft and warm…" Sei murmured as he held his other hand out. Shiro quite happily hopped onto Sei's hand and the young man careful brought the ermine close to his chest. Sei frowned slightly. "I…I can feel its heartbeat when I hold it. Wait…so it's a real animal?!"

Mizuki smiled and nodded. "Yep! It my pet ermine. You know, like a stoat or a ferret? He's called Shiro."

Sei frown evened out and he smiled, managing to find Shiro's chin and tickling him. "Nice to meet you Shiro," he said before his smile faded slightly. "It…it's my first time ever touching a real animal," he admitted quietly.

Now it was Mizuki's turn to frown. 'His first time touching a living animal?' he thought to himself. 'Was he locked up somewhere?'

Sei swallowed heavily, keeping his head down as he rhythmically stokes Shiro who was quite happily curled up in his arms. "This… Sometimes I think it's all in my head," Sei confessed quietly. "I'm blind and everything is black so maybe…maybe I'm already dead. Maybe all I hear is my imagination. Maybe you don't really exist. Maybe we're both dead…"

Mizuki was shocked. How long had Sei been thinking this and not told anyone? Did he honestly think he had just created Mizuki in his imagination? Was that how lonely he'd been before Mizuki started to visit him?

"But…" Sei continued, cuddling Shiro close to him, "After feeling this little heartbeat just now…"

Shiro looked up at Sei and whimpered slightly, almost as if he was crying on Sei's behalf. Suddenly Mizuki couldn't take it anymore. After making sure he wouldn't squash Shiro he put his arms around Sei and held him close. He heard Sei gasp in shock but he didn't let go.

"Sei, look," Mizuki said, holding back tears. "I have a heartbeat too, and a body temperature. And you do as well! I can feel your heartbeat! We are both alive Sei, I promise."

Sei was silent for a moment before he careful dropped Shiro back onto the bed and wound his arms around Mizuki. "Yeah…I can feel your heartbeat too when you hold me," he said quietly with a smile in his voice.

Mizuki pulled away gently and placed his hands on Sei's shoulders. "You're not imagining anything Sei. This is reality. I'll be here for you until you open your eyes again and can see it for yourself. Okay?"

As Sei smiled and nodded, Shiro scrambled up onto Mizuki's shoulder. "Yes, thank you Mizuki," Sei replied with a genuine smile on his face.

Before Mizuki could let go of Sei's shoulders, Shiro ran across Mizuki's arm and touched his nose to Sei's lips. Sei jumped slightly at the unexpected contact, and Mizuki swore under his breath.

"Mizuki…did you just kiss me?" Sei asked.

"No!" Mizuki cried, his face bright red. "It was Shiro, I swear!"

"Hmm…" Sei mused before he reached out and managed to grab Mizuki's cheeks and pull at them.

"S-Shei?" he protested, his voice muffled.

"If you're telling the truth then kiss me to prove it," Sei challenged with a cheeky grin on his face.

"WHAT?!" Mizuki cried as Sei let go of his cheeks.

"You lied to me about the flowers too," Sei pointed out.

Mizuki looked down in embarrassment. "No! I mean, yes, but I'm telling the truth this time!"

Sei burst into laughter and Mizuki looked up. "You're so easy to tease, Mizuki!" he giggled.

Mizuki rolled his eyes and lightly bonked Sei on the head. "It's not nice to bully people like that Sei!"

Sei laughed lightly again as Shiro decided to curl up on his lap again. "He seems to like me," Sei said as he petted his head.

"Well he's a pretty good judge of character then," Mizuki smiled.

Sei blushed slightly which made Mizuki smile even more. He reached out to also stroke Shiro and when he did his hand brushed past Sei's. He felt his heart speed up slightly and felt Sei jump before he relaxed again and gently twisted his pinkie around Mizuki's. They both smiled as Shiro pressed his little black nose against their intertwined fingers and crooned happily.

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**AN: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5 - Touching

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I am so freaking scared about writing this chapter… *distressed whale noises***

**This chapter is dedicated to nipse801, angelicphantomdragon, Elfieeva and SmileRen.**

**Please review this chapter and let me know if I didn't completely screw it up cause I am really scared that I will!**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothiiiiiiiiiiiiing.**

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**Chapter 5 – Touching**

"Mizuki…can I see what you look like?"

Mizuki looked up from his drawing pad and frowned at Sei. "Um… 'see'?"

Sei nodded. "Well…if I touch you I'll be able to tell a few things. I mean…I don't even know if you have short or long hair. Not knowing…it makes me feel lonely."

Mizuki put down his pad and moved from his chair to sit on Sei's bed. He took hold of Sei's hand and laid it on top of his own head. "Sure Sei. Go ahead."

Sei smiled. "Thank you," he replied before slowly started to run his fingers through Mizuki's hair. "Oh…so you've got short hair after all."

Mizuki smiled and nodded. "Yes, and it's red."

Sei smiled gently. "Wow…and it's so soft and fluffy." His smiled grew slightly. "Seems like you take good care of your hair. Are you a bit vain Mizuki?"

Mizuki blushed slightly and grumbled. "You don't have to put it like that."

Sei laughed before moving his hands down to Mizuki's face. "Okay, let's see your eyes."

Mizuki swallowed, nervous that Sei may accidently poke his eyes. "C-careful Sei."

"I know, I know," Sei reassured him before gently tracing his thumb around Mizuki's eye. Mizuki reflexly leant into his touch and although Sei noticed he didn't say anything.

"You've got kinda narrow eyes," Sei murmured. "What colour are they?"

"Green," Mizuki replied quietly.

"Red hair and green eyes… Are you Celtic?" Sei asked.

For some reason this made Mizuki burst out laughing. "I'm not as red as that," he chuckled. "It's more like burgundy."

"Oh," Sei giggled, realising his mistake before he started to carefully explore the rest of Mizuki's face. "You've got a really straight nose," he said quietly before his hands moved slightly further down, his thumb now tracing over Mizuki's bottom lip. "And you're lips are so soft…"

Mizuki barely managed to hold in a whimper, his bottom lip being a strangely sensitive area for him. He wasn't sure if Sei noticed or not but he immediately left his lips alone and ran his fingers along his ears.

"Mizuki, you have your ears pierced?" Sei asked.

Mizuki nodded. "Yeah, just my lobes. They're cherry earrings; I always wear them."

Sei smiled before he moved to Mizuki's cheek. He frowned slightly. "Mizuki…is this a scar? It feels like one."

"It's a tattoo," Mizuki explained.

"Oh? A…circle?" Sei tried to guess from its shape.

"No, it's a teardrop," Mizuki corrected.

Sei frowned. "Why? Do you cry a lot?"

Mizuki gently took hold of Sei's hand and pulled it away from his tattoo. "When you tease me I do," he replied jokingly.

Sei frowned again. 'Is he avoiding my question?' he thought to himself.

After a few moments of silence Mizuki spoke up again. "Hey Sei, let's play a game."

'Yes, he's definitely avoiding my questions,' Sei thought before Mizuki continued.

Mizuki started to slip out of the top of his hospital robes so his torso was now exposed. "I've got a couple more tattoos on my body so why don't you try finding them?"

"Oh…alright," Sei answered, sensing that Mizuki wasn't going to talk about his teardrop tattoo today anyway. He hoped one day Mizuki would open up to him but for now he would play along with his friend.

Sei moved his hands down from Mizuki's face to his neck. "Did I find one?" Before Mizuki could answer Sei corrected himself. "No wait, that's…bandages?"

"Yes…" Mizuki said quietly, dropping his gaze. "They're covering a tattoo I would rather forget."

"Why?" Sei asked softly.

"I'll tell you some other time," Mizuki answered quickly. "Why don't you keep searching?"

'Mizuki's so secretive today…' Sei mused before moving his hands further down to Mizuki's stomach. He raised his eyebrows. "Wow Mizuki… You're really toned," he murmured as his hands traced Mizuki's abs.

Mizuki grinned. "Yeah. I've never actually told you this but I'm the leader of a Rib team."

"Rib?" Sei asked. "Is that the game that came before Rhyme?"

"That's the one," Mizuki replied. "Do you know much about Rib?"

"Not really," Sei admitted. "I know that gangs fight each other and they all have graffiti tags but that's about it."

"In all honesty that's pretty much it," Mizuki smiled. "The gangs are like families though, for the most part anyway."

"That must be really nice," Sei mused. "Having all those people looking out for you."

"Yeah it is," Mizuki agreed.

Sei's hands began to creep further up Mizuki's torso. "Alright, let's see…" Sei said. "What's that? Another tattoo?"

Mizuki began to laugh. "That's my nipple Sei! Stop! That tickles!"

"Oh, sorry," Sei giggled, not sounding sorry at all.

"You definitely did that on purpose, didn't you?" Mizuki sighed, flicked Sei lightly on the nose.

Sei scrunched his nose up but grinned, not denying Mizuki's accusation. He continued to move his hands around Mizuki's chest, murmuring as he did. "Hmm…nothing here…or here neither…"

Mizuki let his muscles relax as Sei's hand lightly traced over his exposed skin. 'Damn his hands feel good,' he thought, his eyes starting to close over. '…Maybe too good…"

All of a sudden Sei's hands stopped moving. Mizuki opened his eyes and frowned. "What's wrong Sei?"

"Your heart," Sei said quietly, his voice full of concern. "It's beating too fast. You're…you're not sick, are you Mizuki?"

Mizuki breathed a smile. Of course his heartbeat was faster than normal; Sei could blame himself for that.

Ever since Sei had confessed to Mizuki that he sometimes wondered if he was really alive or dead, Mizuki often let Sei lean on his chest and listen to his heartbeat to comfort and reassure him. As such Sei was fairly familiar with what Mizuki's regular heartbeat sounded like.

"Don't look so worried Sei," Mizuki reassured his friend. "I'm fine." He wanted to add, 'More than just fine in fact,' but he stopped himself.

Sei dipped his head, embarrassed. "Hey Mizuki…can you hold me for a bit? Sorry but…I got scared for a moment just now."

Mizuki smiled softly and gently took hold of Sei's shoulders, bringing him closer towards him until Sei's head was resting on his chest. "Come here," Mizuki murmured, gently stroking Sei's hair. "Sorry for making you worry."

Mizuki held onto Sei tightly as the smaller of the two moved his head slightly so his ear was right over Mizuki's heart. The steady beat of his heart along with the rhythmic stroking of his hair calmed Sei down and he relaxed into Mizuki's embrace.

'Mizuki's heart is still beating really fast,' Sei thought, his mind drifting to thoughts of his own weak heart. 'Mine probably wouldn't even survive at this rate. But…it sounds so alive. So reassuring…'

"Mizuki…"Sei murmured under his breath, not even realising he'd said anything out loud.

Mizuki realised that Sei wasn't aware he'd actually spoken so he just smiled and said nothing in return, continuing to stroke Sei's hair as he felt his own heartbeat slowing down. Eventually he felt Sei's entire body relax and when he looked down he chuckled slightly when he realised Sei had fallen asleep. Mizuki knew he should probably lay Sei down properly on his bed but the selfish part of him wanted him to stay in his arms the way he was.

So instead Mizuki just sat their stroking Sei's hair while his friend slept, lulled to sleep by Mizuki's strong heartbeat.

* * *

**AN: For anyone who knows the original comics this fic is based off of I did kinda change the ending to this chapter quite a bit, but I was too embarrassed to write what actually happens. I know, I'm a weird chicken. If you want to see what actually happens then go read the comic strip on tumblr, the link to which is on my profile.**

**Thank you for reading and please review!**


	6. Chapter 6 - View

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Please don't hate meeeeee. I had essays and presentations and stuff I had to do for uni so I haven't updated this or any of my fics in ages. I'm really sorry! *hides***

**Thank you to Guest, thecoldforest and angelicphantomdragon for reviewing the last chapter; I'm really glad you all liked it!**

**I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Please review!**

**This chapter I dedicated to thecoldforest, Izou no Kaizoku, HoneyClover4 and Bri Nara.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothiiiiiiiiiiing.**

* * *

**Chapter 6 – View**

Mizuki was really worried about Sei. He had been unusually quiet for a few days and occasionally when the doctor popped their heads into his room while Mizuki was visiting they would just frown at Sei before leaving. Mizuki was scared in case something was wrong with Sei and he just didn't want to talk about it for fear of worrying Mizuki.

After almost a week of this Mizuki had decided to just ask Sei about it, but was finding it difficult to work up the courage to do it, afraid himself of the answer in case something really was wrong with Sei.

Mizuki was sitting on Sei's bed with his fists clenched, trying to get the words out when Sei suddenly spoke up.

"Mizuki…" he mumbled quietly. "The…" Sei took a deep breath, his hands shaking slightly. "The doctors said it's safe to open my eyes again."

Mizuki's eyes widened. He didn't understand… Why had Sei been acting so quiet when he'd been given such good news?

Sei wasn't stupid; he knew that Mizuki had been worried about him for the past few days. When the doctors had told him that his eyes should be healed by now and he could take the bandages off whenever he wanted, they'd been surprised that he hadn't ripped the bandages off immediately.

The truth was that Sei was scared. He remembered hearing Toue talking about removing his brother's vocal chords to experiment on them to try and better understand the power of Scrap. Since Sei held the power of Scrap in his eyes similarly to how Aoba held it in his voice, Sei was terrified that while he was unconscious after Oval Tower collapsed that perhaps someone had removed his eyes. He didn't trust the doctors completely as he'd been used to "doctors" experimenting on him back in Platinum Jail.

But he did trust Mizuki.

"So…can you help me take off the bandages?" he asked Mizuki nervously. He knew that Mizuki wouldn't lie to him if something really was wrong with his eyes.

"Wait, wait!" Mizuki said flustered before Sei heard paper rustling and something that sounded like faint scratching.

"What're you doing?" Sei asked worriedly.

"Fixing my hair!" Mizuki replied. "Gotta look good Sei!"

Sei couldn't help but laugh at his friend's antics despite his worries. "I can't believe you Mizuki," he grinned.

"But Sei, what if I look like an ugly old man?" Mizuki asked.

"Then I'll kick you out of my room," Sei replied simply, still smiling.

Mizuki laughed. "Figures."

Sei swallowed slightly and twisted his blanket nervously between his fingers. "Though Mizuki…you might run away yourself. What if my eyes are hideous?" Visions of his face with empty blood-drenched eye sockets flashed through his head and he gritted his teeth, trying desperately to push the image out of his mind.

Mizuki gripped Sei's hands tightly with his own and kept them there until Sei's muscles slowly relaxed. "Don't worry about that Sei," he murmured. "I'm sure they're fine."

Sei nodded slowly and Mizuki let go of his hands. Sei felt Mizuki place one hand gently on his bandages. "Alright, I'm ready Sei," he said, his voice strangely muffled. Sei nodded again and hooked his own finger under his bandages.

"Here goes…" he said quietly, his weak heart beating worryingly quickly with fear. He began to careful unravel the bandages, Mizuki helping by making sure they didn't get tangled.

Eventually there were no more bandages over his eyes. Sei could feel the light through his eyelids, but he kept his eyes closed in fear. Mizuki again gently gripped his hand, comforting him slightly. Very slowly he allowed his eyes to open.

The first thing that hit Sei was the slight pain of light hitting his eyes for the first time in months. He quickly squeezed his eyes shut again, giving them time to adjust. As he opened them again slowly he registered the figure sitting on his bed, still holding onto his hand. This was Mizuki. But…that wasn't his face.

Sei couldn't help the burst of laughter that erupted from his chest as he realised that Mizuki was hiding his face behind a drawing he'd done of a funny looking mask. He covered his mouth with his hand to try and hold some of the laughter in but it didn't do much to help.

"Sorry Sei," Mizuki grinned as he dropped his drawing pad. "I couldn't help it!"

"You idiot," Sei laughed, managing finally to get his breath back.

Sei raised his head to look at Mizuki properly for the first time and he felt his breath catch in his throat. He really was handsome… His white teardrop tattoo stood out against his darker skin, and his red hair looked so soft he had to stop himself from reaching out to touch it again like he had when he'd been trying to "see" what Mizuki looked like. And his eyes…they were such a beautiful shade of green that Sei never wanted to look away from them.

When Sei locked eyes with him Mizuki felt his heartbeat speed up. His eyes were a piecing black and Mizuki could feel himself already getting lost in them.

Both of them seemed to realise they were staring at the same time and quickly looked away, both their facing turning red in embarrassment.

"So…will I be kicked out now or not?" Mizuki asked, trying to lighten the mood.

Sei smiled, looking back up at Mizuki with his cheeks still tinged red. "No. Mizuki is really handsome after all."

Mizuki smiled back, also still slightly flustered. "Thanks Sei. And…your eyes are really pretty."

Sei looked down shyly. "Thanks."

"I'm really glad you can see again," Mizuki said quietly, glancing up to see Sei smiling happily again.

Sei looked around his hospital room, his gaze quickly falling on the vase of white roses next to his bed. He smiled as he reached out to run his fingers over the petals. After Mizuki had given him the white rose from the flowers his team mates had brought him, he had started sneaking more white roses into the vase when he came to visit Sei. Sei had noticed that Mizuki was doing something but hadn't been entirely sure what it was. Knowing that Mizuki had been thinking about him this whole time made Sei really happy.

"Hey, Mizuki. Do you still have those little drawings I did for that game we used to play in the beginning?" Sei asked.

Mizuki remembered those games well, back when Sei still couldn't speak and he would do little drawings and have Mizuki guess what they were. He grabbed hold of his drawing pad and flipped back to those little pictures. "Here they are," he said, holding the pad out to Sei.

Sei took the pad and grimaced. "Oh wow…my drawings are really horrible…"

Mizuki chuckled. "Well you were blind after all. Although…" Mizuki pointed to one particular drawing. "No offence but you tried to convince me that this was a drawing of me when it obviously looks like a penis."

"Yeah, that's because that's what I drew!" Sei smiled while Mizuki rolled his eyes. "Silly Mizuki. I was blind! I didn't know what you looked like!"

"Sheesh Sei, that's so mean," Mizuki pouted, although he wasn't really upset and he made sure that Sei knew that by tickling him lightly.

Sei giggled before flicking through more of Mizuki's drawing pad. Mizuki frowned. "Sei? What're you doing?"

"Looking at more of Mizuki's drawings," Sei replied simply.

Mizuki swallowed. Most of his drawings were either tattoo designs or perfectly innocent sketches of Sei…but there were one or two more mature ones when he'd allowed his imagination to get a bit out of hand. And he could tell by Sei's face exactly when he'd found those particular drawings. Mizuki felt his face going bright red as a strange smile grew on Sei's face. He clutched the pad close to his chest.

"I'm confiscating this," he announced happily.

Mizuki was confused. So…he'd _liked _the drawings?

Before he had a chance to ask him why he was keeping his pad or even to protest against it a nurse knocked on the door and came into the room. When she saw that Sei had his bandages off she quickly ushered Mizuki out of the room, saying they needed to run tests on Sei to see how his eyesight was. And so Mizuki found himself back in his own room without even having been able to say goodbye to Sei.

Mizuki lay on his bed staring up at the ceiling before he turned his head slightly to see the vase of red roses next to him. He smiled as he thought about Sei with his vase of white flowers which he could now see, and he laid a hand over his chest to feel his still quickened heartbeat.

* * *

**AN: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Only one more left now!**

**Also, fun fact, I finally got tumblr so go follow me! I'm called VeryBerryRandoms so hope to see you all on there!**


	7. Chapter 7 - Departures

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Last chapter! Kinda sad that this story is done; I've really had loads of fun writing it. **

**HOWEVER! This is not the end of me writing about DMMD, but more about that later! For now I hope you enjoy this chapter, and please review!**

**Thank you to Izou no Kaizoku, thecoldforest and SmileRen for reviewing the last chapter.**

**This chapter is dedicated to BulletproofRemorse, L33o, dimdoi, nessieofwaas and Goatsfromoutertumblr.**

**DISCLAIMER: We all know this but I OWN NOTHING.**

* * *

**Chapter 7 – Departures**

Sei took his first breath of fresh air in a very long time and let it out slowly, enjoying the feeling of a slight breeze softly grazing over his skin. He closed his eyes as the sunlight danced over his skin and his face lit up as he opened his eyes again and looked up to the sky, seeing birds flying overhead.

Mizuki felt as if he could cry because of how happy Sei looked. He was like a child on Christmas day. Sei had still never really talked about what had happened to him before he'd wound up in hospital but since he'd said Shiro was the first real animal he'd ever held, Mizuki could guess that he'd been locked up somewhere. For all that Mizuki knew this was Sei's first time outside. That thought made him quite sad, but seeing the pure joy on his friend's face made him feel a lot better.

It was also the first time Mizuki had seen Sei wearing anything other than his hospital gown. Seeing him in normal clothes was a bit strange, but at the same time Mizuki found it hard not to keep staring at Sei. He wasn't wearing anything particularly strange; it was just a black jumper with a white shirt underneath and black trousers, but Mizuki still found himself staring and had to force himself to stop.

Sei looked down from the sky and turned back towards the hospital. "It's hard to believe it…" he murmured.

"Yeah," Mizuki agreed, smiling slightly. "We finally got discharged."

Both young men stared at the hospital building for a few more minutes in silence. Mizuki felt Sei gently take hold of his hand and Mizuki automatically squeezed it.

"What will you do now Mizuki?" Sei asked, turning back to face him.

Mizuki grinned. "I'll go see my team and celebrate of course! You?"

Sei looked down for a moment before he answered. "I guess I'll go surprise my relatives."

Mizuki squeezed Sei's hand again. "I'm sure they'll be really happy to see you Sei."

Sei nodded once before he looked back up at Mizuki, smiling again. "Mizuki…thank you so much for everything you did. It means a lot."

Mizuki shook his head. "No need to thank me Sei. Thank you too. You helped me as well!"

The light in Sei's eyes dimmed slightly and he swallowed. "I guess…this is where our paths separate, huh?"

Mizuki's shoulders dropped. Sei had become one of his best friends. It was going to be so strange not seeing him every day. He wasn't sure how to feel about all this.

"For now yes…but I gave you my coil number, remember?" Mizuki replied, trying to stay positive. "So whenever you need anything, don't hesitate to call me, okay?"

Sei smiled once again and nodded. "Of course Mizuki. Thank you."

Neither of the friends seemed willing to let go of the other's hand, or to be the first to say goodbye. Mizuki felt his heartbeat start speed up, and he could feel his palms sweating. He knew he needed to do this, but he was scared of what Sei's reaction might be.

Before he chickened out, he opened his mouth.

"Hey Sei… Before you leave… There's one game we didn't get to play again."

Sei frowned. "Really?"

While Sei had been blind, Mizuki had played little games with him, like when Sei had to draw something and Mizuki had to guess what he'd drawn. The friends had continued to play these games even after Sei had gotten his sight back as the doctor said little exercises like that would help to strengthen his eyes.

"Yes, the one with the tastes," Mizuki explained. "Remember? When you were blind and I had you guess what I was feeding you. So…"

Mizuki slowly stepped closer towards Sei, who looked like he was trying to hold in a smile.

"Please close your eyes and tell what this tastes like, okay?" Mizuki murmured quietly, looking directly into Sei's eyes.

Sei smiled slightly and nodded once. "Alright," he giggled like a child before closing his eyes.

Mizuki gently brushed some hair away from Sei's now closed eyes and rested his hand on his cheek. Sei leaned into the touch and Mizuki's heart started to race. Softly cupping Sei's cheek, Mizuki leaned in and pressed his lips against Sei's, his own eyes closing over as he did so. Almost immediately Sei kissed him back.

Mizuki leaned back after a few seconds and both young men opened their eyes. Mizuki searched Sei's face in a slight panic, looking for any indication that he'd just made a huge mistake. However, he found quite the opposite.

"Hmm…" Sei grinned, running his index finger gently over Mizuki's lips. "I couldn't guess. I need to try again."

Without waiting for Mizuki's response Sei took hold of Mizuki's collar and pulled him back into the kiss. Mizuki was surprised but quickly melted into the kiss, his eyes closing over once more as his arms found their way around Sei.

The second kiss lasted longer, and a few minutes later Sei gently pulled back and smiled at Mizuki. "Just like I thought. It tastes like peaches."

* * *

It had been almost two weeks since Mizuki had been discharged from the hospital. True to his word, the first thing he had done had been to surprise his teammates at their usual hangout. They'd been over the moon to see him and the party that night had been a blast. Mizuki quickly got back to work in his tattoo parlour, and his regular customers were also very happy to see Mizuki again.

Mizuki found himself thinking about Sei a lot. They had been speaking almost every day since they'd been discharged, but only over coil. They hadn't seen each other face to face since that day. Mizuki wanted nothing more than to see Sei again, but he felt awkward asking. He knew from Sei's reaction that he hadn't been angry or disgusted about the kiss, but Mizuki was still worried that Sei may not feel the same way about him as Mizuki did.

Mizuki was standing behind the bar at his tattoo shop thinking about all this with Shiro on his shoulder, and for some reason Aoba's face popped into his head. He hadn't gone to see Aoba since he'd been discharged, although he had given him a call to let him know he was out of the hospital. He and Aoba had been friends for a long time and he'd always been able to ask for Aoba's advice on pretty much anything. He didn't see why this would be any different.

His mind made up, Mizuki closed the shop up for lunch and started to walk towards Aoba's work, Shiro now curled up in his pocket. When he got to the Junk Shop the owner informed him that Aoba was at home as it was his day off. Mizuki thanked him and started to head to Aoba's house. He knocked on the door and Aoba answered, a grin appearing on his face.

"Mizuki!" Aoba smiled, holding his hand out. "Congrats on being discharged."

Mizuki rolled his eyes as he gripped Aoba's hand. "Congratulating _me_? Shouldn't that be for the doctors? I just sat in bed for months!"

Aoba laughed as Ren padded towards the open door and looked up at Mizuki.

"Good to see you again Mizuki," Ren said in his deep voice.

Mizuki smiled and crouched down to pat Ren on the head. "Thanks Ren. Good to see you too."

Shiro took the opportunity to run out of Mizuki's pocket and down his sleeve, pressing his little black nose against Ren's.

"Hello Shiro," Ren greeted.

Shiro squeaked slightly before clambering onto Ren's head and curling up, crooning happily.

"You want to come in?" Aoba asked, stepping aside so Mizuki could pass him.

"Yeah, thanks," Mizuki smiled, kicking his shoes off as he entered the landing and following Aoba through to the kitchen.

"Coffee?" Aoba offered.

"Please," Mizuki replied, sitting down at the table. "Your grandmother not in?"

"No, Granny has a neighbour watch meeting or something," Aoba replied. "Oh! When I told her you were out of the hospital she was really happy though. She told me to tell you that, but I forgot until now."

"Well tell her I say thanks if I don't see her myself today," Mizuki said as Aoba brought over two mugs of coffee and sat down opposite him. Ren had hopped up onto Aoba's lap and Shiro had ran back over the table to Mizuki, sniffing at his coffee as he went, before climbing onto his shoulder.

"So, what's up?" Aoba asked. "The shop been busy?"

"Yeah, actually," Mizuki replied. "Business has been surprising good. Some of the Dry Juice guys had been keeping it open while I was away but a lot of people said they'd rather wait till I was back to give them tattoos, so I've been super busy these past two weeks."

"That's good though!" Aoba said. "It shows people know what a good tattoo artist you are!"

"I guess, yeah," Mizuki smiled before he remembered why he was here. "Actually Aoba…I wanted to get your opinion on something."

Aoba nodded. "Sure, of course! What is it?"

"Well…" Mizuki looked down, trying to figure out how to word this. "While I was in hospital, I met someone. I visited their room a lot and we got really close. We got discharged on the same day and…we kissed before we left. I gave them my coil number and we've been talking every day but…neither of us has mentioned what happened and I really don't know what to do now."

Aoba was quiet for a few moments, taking in everything that Mizuki had told them.

"Well…do you like them?" Aoba asked carefully.

Mizuki looked back up at Aoba and nodded. "I do. A lot. And…I think they feel the same way."

Aoba smiled. "Then I think you need to tell them Mizuki. Because if you don't say anything and neither do they, then you'll wonder about what could have been for the rest of your life."

Mizuki nodded slowly. "Yeah…you're right Aoba," he smiled. "Thanks."

"No problem," Aoba grinned back.

Suddenly Mizuki heard footsteps coming from upstairs. "I thought you said your grandmother was out," he frowned.

Aoba sighed heavily. "She is…I actually have something to tell you too…"

Before Aoba could continue, there was the sound of footsteps on the stairs before the kitchen door was opened.

"Nii-chan, did you see that book I was reading yesterday?"

Mizuki frowned again. Nii-chan? Aoba didn't have any siblings! Mizuki turned around…

And when he did his heart stopped.

His eyes widened. "…_Sei?!_"

Sei's jaw dropped open. "Mi…_Mizuki?!"_

"Um…how exactly do you two-" Aoba began to ask before he stopped himself. "Oooooh…hospital. Right." He then quickly turned to face Mizuki. "Hang on. You weren't…were you talking about my brother just there?!"

Mizuki wasn't listening; he was still staring at Sei. Sei's face slowly lit up and he jumped on Mizuki, throwing his arms around him.

"It's so good to see you!" he cried, hugging him tightly.

Mizuki started to laugh and hugged him back. "It's great to see you too! But…what are you doing here?"

Sei looked over at Aoba and smiled cheekily. "So…should we tell him, nii-chan?"

Aoba rolled his eyes at Sei and smiled back. "Yeah, I think we'd better."

* * *

It took a while but eventually Aoba and Sei had explained everything to Mizuki; how they were twins, how they'd been separated at birth, what had happened to Sei and what Aoba had done in Platinum Jail. Mizuki could barely believe it, but he found himself increasingly grateful as the story went on that both Aoba and Sei were alright.

"So," Aoba started, staring at Sei and Mizuki in turn. "What happened to you two in hospital?"

Mizuki's cheeks reddened slightly and he looked down, which Aoba raised an eyebrow at.

Sei however didn't seem embarrassed in the slightest. "Well a nurse asked Mizuki if he would keep me company while I was still blind and couldn't speak. He really helped me." Sei smiled at Mizuki kindly and Mizuki blushed even more. "We became really good friends."

"_Just_ good friends?" Aoba pressed.

Sei finally realised what Aoba was getting at and he also blushed, avoiding his brother's gaze.

Aoba sighed heavily before turning to Mizuki. "Oi, Mizuki."

Something in Aoba's tone made Mizuki look up at his friend. "Um…yeah?"

Aoba smiled slightly at Mizuki with a bit of a glint in his eye. "If you hurt my big brother, I won't forgive you. I hope you realise that."

Mizuki shook his head violently. "I would never hurt him Aoba! You should know that!"

"Nii-chan, stop being embarrassing!" Sei whined, pulling at Aoba's arm.

Aoba burst out laughing and ruffled Sei's hair. "Don't worry so much Sei. I'm just looking out for you!" Aoba leaned back in his chair and grinned at both of them. "Look, be honest with me. Are you two…a thing?" Both young men again avoided Aoba's gaze and Aoba sighed. "Alright. Sei, Mizuki just told me what happened when you both left the hospital; about how you kissed."

Mizuki couldn't help but smile because of how much Sei blushed at that even though he was embarrassed himself.

"Nii-chan…yeah, we kissed," Sei said after a short silence. "And…I really like Mizuki. And he won't hurt me, I know it."

Mizuki was shocked by Sei's confession, and his face clearly showed it; his eyes widened and his jaw dropped open. Both Sei and Aoba noticed his reaction and grinned.

"And Mizuki?" Aoba asked. "How do you feel?"

Mizuki swallowed hard and looked up to meet Sei's eyes. "I…I feel the same."

A shy smile appeared on Sei's face as he kept his eyes locked with Mizuki. Aoba looked at both of them once again before smiling and standing up.

"Ren!" he called through to the living room. "We're going out for a little while."

Ren hopped off the sofa, Shiro curling up again on the sofa, and padded over to Aoba. "Understood."

Aoba ruffled Sei's hair again and lightly punched Mizuki on the shoulder. "See you two later."

"Where're you going?" Mizuki asked.

"Out," Aoba teased. "Figured you two should have some alone time. But Mizuki, I meant what I said. Don't you dare hurt my brother."

Mizuki met Aoba's gaze and nodded. "I promise I won't Aoba. You can trust me."

Aoba smiled. "I know I can," he said softly before he left.

Mizuki and Sei kept quiet until they heard the door closing and Aoba's footsteps walking away from the house.

Mizuki let out a breath he didn't even realise he was holding and slumped down slightly in his seat. "Well, that was stressful," he chuckled.

"It was, wasn't it?" Sei agreed with a smile. "I guess he just wanted to see how we really felt about each other."

Sei stood up and walked over to Mizuki, standing behind his chair. "So…did you mean what you said to my brother?" he asked softly.

Mizuki gently took hold of Sei's hand and smiled. "Of course I did Sei. And…did you mean what you said too?"

Sei slowly leaned forward and brushed Mizuki's bangs off of his face. "I did," he whispered before pressing his lips against Mizuki's. Mizuki cupped Sei's cheek in his hand and kissed him back.

The two were oblivious to Aoba peeking through the window, chuckling with a smile on his face.

"How do you feel about this Aoba?" Ren asked.

Aoba turned away from his house and started to walk down the street, Ren at his side.

"Well, Sei is my brother and Mizuki is one of my best friends," Aoba replied. "Of course I'm happy for them. They both deserve to be happy after everything they've been through." Aoba glanced back at his house and smiled. "And if they make each other happy, then I'm glad."

Aoba turned away from the house again and walked off towards the town, feeling satisfied that two people he really cared about deserved to be together.

* * *

**AN: I really hope you guys enjoyed this story! I've loved writing it.**

**I've actually just started another DMMD fic which is also about Sei, so if you guys could go check that out I'd really appreciate it!**

**Thank you again to everyone who's read, reviewed, followed and favourited this story, and thank you also to shinkamilyn-sakonma on tumblr for creating the drawings which inspired this fic!**

**Hope to see you guys over on the other DMMD fic! Bye! Love from Scotland! **


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